Music For A Monday Evening

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Somehow, the day got away from me, and the plans I had to post something of substance fell through. Maybe tomorrow. Also, look for a new episode of the Disability.TV Podcast on Wednesday. My guest will be Christina Stephens, a.k.a. AmputeeOT, who spoke with me about last fall’s Fox TV show, Red Band Society.

Meanwhile, check out this Beatles video. I watched the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony last night, and one of the highlights was inductee Ringo Starr performing “Boys” with fellow inductees, Green Day. It was pretty great.

Spring Cleaning ... Time For A Musical Digression

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So, in lieu of the usual disability blogging, here’s a video I’ve been watching daily for over a week now, of Kim Gordon and the surviving members of Nirvana performing at the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Induction:



Sonic Youth has been one of my favorite bands since Goo came out in 1990. From there I went back and checked out the epic Daydream Nation, and I was hooked. Kim Gordon was always my favorite member of the group, partly for the usual hetrosexual male reasons, but also because she seemed so enigmatic. She recently published an autobiography, and is making the rounds of various culture shows and podcasts. I listened to her interview on Marc Maron’s WTF podcast, and now I want to hear more from her. For now, I’ll just say that I hope I have half of Kim Gordon’s energy and creativity when I am 62, though there’s no way I have ever been a 16th as cool as she is.

And here is my favorite Sonic Youth performance video:

Tipping

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Judge John Hodgman, Episode 158

This is a bit off-topic, but bear with me. I’ll bring it all back to disability issues.

This episode of the fantastic Judge John Hodgman podcast is about tipping … that is, who one is expected to give a gratuity, how much, and why we give tips at all. “Judge” Hodgman, his “Bailiff” Jesse Thorn, and the married couple who are the “Litigants” discuss:

- who actually receives the money from tips (it’s not just your waitress)

- whether it is a reward for good service, or an expected component of service employees’ pay

- which services are you supposed to tip

- whether tipping low or stiffing service workers actually teaches them any lessons (what do YOU think?)

- how much should you tip

When Judge Hodgman also pointed out that generous tipping is an investment in better service, with people and places you plan to use frequently, it made me wonder whether good or bad tipping habits can affect service to customers with disabilities.

I don’t travel a lot, but when I do, I make sure to have a bunch of $5 bills on me just for tips. I’m not talking about tips for waitstaff so much, but in airports, it makes life a whole lot easier. True, I could probably get by purely on asserting my right to accommodations. On the other hand, the people who always have to carry out reasonable accommodations are the lowest paid and least respected people in the industry, and I feel like the extra money works for them, and frankly their improved attitude and more personal commitment to, say, getting me to the gate or hauling my bags off the baggage claim belt, works for me.

Of course, many disabled people can’t afford to be “generous” tippers. Sometimes, that can’t be helped. Nevertheless, I would recommend disabled travelers to budget as much as possible for tips when they plan a trip. Certainly don’t forget about it and just hope you’ve got a little extra cash when the time comes to give the lady pushing your wheelchair a tip.

The other problem is that some of us may actually be kind of clueless about tipping, from lack of experience or because nobody ever bothered to give us the lowdown on tipping customs. It seems like an important independent living skill, but one that probably gets forgotten a lot.

So, fellow disabled readers, what are your tipping experiences and practices?

Fundraising Announcement

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Photo of a hand held palm up, with a cartoon green dollar sign above it
After much thought, I have decided to join the Amazon Affiliate program, in order to help me support and expand Disability Thinking. If you buy any products from Amazon.com, using links from this blog, I will get a small percentage of the proceeds. To kick things off, I have added a menu of “Recommended” items to the right-hand sidebar … including ten of my favorite books and DVDs related to disability. From time to time, I will also post product reviews that I hope will be interesting to read, and will also include links to purchase through Disability Thinking.

Blogging isn’t expensive, but it has a cost, and some day soon I hope to add some features that definitely carry a higher price tag. I would greatly appreciate any purchases you make through Disability Thinking!